


a duck in the hand-?

by nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)



Series: me sobbing about critical role [115]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21698593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife
Summary: Nott gives Beau a duck to make her feel better after the departure of Prof. Thaddeus
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Nott
Series: me sobbing about critical role [115]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266866
Comments: 1
Kudos: 75





	a duck in the hand-?

**Author's Note:**

> based on a prompt that nott gives beau a duck as a gesture of friendship. thats literally all this is.

beau is tired and sore and still a little bitter at professor thaddeus’ sudden departure, so it takes her a second and a few confused blinks to compute what is staring up at her from her bed. 

“is that. is there a duck on my bed. _jester!_ ”

of course, then she remembers that jester has been hanging out with her mom all day, and she doubts marion keeps live ducks just waddling around. there’s really only one other person it could be, and beau starts to head for the door. 

and then stops when there’s a flapping noise and the soft patter of feet on the floor. webbed feet. 

she turns around and the duck is following her. he- she? the ones with green feathers are the boys, she’s pretty sure. he waddles right up to her leg and then looks up. stares at her with big, round eyes. 

“fucking- _fine_. you can come.”

beau is talking to a duck. a _prank_ duck. she massages her temples and tries to ignore the gentle _thwapping_ of his feet on the wooden floor as she searches for nott. 

she heads to the room caleb and nott are sharing, and maybe her knock is a little harsher than is warranted. but she’s _tired_ from being shown around nicodranas by jester all day, and her muscles are beginning to feel sore in the bad way, and even if she won’t admit it, it stings a little to have been rejected by an _owl_. 

after a few seconds, she just opens the door and walks in. caleb looks up in surprise from his book. he opens his mouth, but beau cuts him off. 

“did you know about this?” she asks, pointing sharply to the duck, who nonchalantly fluffs his feathers a little.

caleb follows her arm and his eyes widen in surprise at the duck. the duck quacks once, and then sits down. 

“ah- no. although now i understand why she insisted on staying behind at the beach. i admit i thought it was odd.”

beau sighs. “do you know where she is?”

“i would assume still at the beach, or with jester, perhaps. she has not returned yet.”

he’s already turning back to his book, and beau knows the conversation is over. _fuck_ , she does not want to walk all the way to the beach, but she’d have to set the duck loose there anyway, so. might as well get it over with. 

the sun is just beginning to set as she leaves the chateau, and the duck is _still_ following her. as they enter a busier part of town, he hops off the ground and beats his wings. beau assumes he’s finally bored with her, or has realized she doesn’t have any food, but instead, he lands on her shoulder. his short claws dig into her shoulder, and after a wobbly second, he finds a comfortable position. he nestles into the side of her neck, and beau glares at the people who are staring.

weirdly, she. doesn’t hate it. it’s not the same as it was with professor thaddeus, less sharp and bite-y. the duck just clings on and might actually be sleeping. she thinks about how stupid she probably looks with a duck on her shoulder, and not the way it soothes the hurt part of her left by thaddeus’ absence. 

she’s practically at the beach by now, and starts looking around for nott. it takes a surprisingly long time to find her, given the lack of hiding spaces, but she does. there’s a big pile of rocks towards the shoreline, and beau can see a pair of pointed ears sticking up from it. she heads toward them.

her irritation has mostly faded. now she just wants to know why the _fuck_ nott got her a _duck_. and left it on her _bed_. 

“hey,” she says, and nott jumps in surprise. swings around with her crossbow, and beau dodges out of the way of a bolt. 

“fuck! sorry! you scared me- oh! so you like him?” 

nott shoves the crossbow onto her back and beau climbs up next to her on the rocks. 

“i, uh- yeah. i guess, he’s fine, for a duck. why did you get me a fucking duck, nott? and how did you even get him back to the chateau?”

“oh that was easy, i just crumbled up a bunch of pastries to lure him in with and then wrapped him in a coat. he loved it, once i got him back and fed him,” nott says cheerily. and then she looks down. out, towards the sunset that’s coming into its own, filling the sky with a whole mess of colors. it reminds her of jester’s sketchbook. 

“well… you seemed so upset when professor thaddeus left. i figured he’d cheer you up. have you named him yet?”

beau blinks. definitely doesn’t blink her eyes quickly, to get rid of the moisture. coughs awkwardly. she’s grateful for the topic change. 

“uh, no. what do you think i should name him?”

nott scratches at the rock, her faced scrunched up in thought. 

“well, you had professor thaddeus, right? and he’s kind of a replacement, but better. so what’s better than a professor?”

“uh, i dunno. i guess- expositor? that’s higher than most things. pretty fuckin’ badass too.”

nott claps her hands together and smiles. “well, there you go! Expositor Thaddeus!”

she takes a swig from her flask and offers it to beau.

beau feels ridiculous, toasting the name of her newly christened _pet duck_ , but. why the hell not. she also feels- nice. warm. she takes a swig, then hands it back. 

they sit there for a few minutes more, taking turns sipping from the flask, watching the sun set. expositor thaddeus naps contentedly on beau’s shoulder. 


End file.
